Subterranean deposits of coal, shale and other formations often contain substantial quantities of methane gas. Vertical wells and vertical well patterns have been used to access coal and shale formations to produce the methane gas. More recently, horizontal patterns and interconnecting well bores have also been used to produce methane gas from coal and shale formations. For shale formations, production test from a vertical cavity well has been used to assess the desirability of drilling an intercepting well and pattern in the shale.